CONNECTICUT 
STATE  LIBRARY 

HARTFORD 


A  BRIEF  SUMMARY 
OF  ITS  ACTIVITIES 


FIFTH  EDITION 
Printed  for  the  Library 
July  12.  1923 


PREFACE  TO  FIFTH  EDITION 


The  third  edition  of  the  Brief  Summary  of  the  Activities 
of  the  Connecticut  State  Library,  issued  September  17,  1921, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  formal  transfer  of  the  “Trumbull 
Papers”  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  to  the 
Connecticut  State  Library,  having  been  quickly  exhausted, 
a  fourth  edition  has  been  made  necessary. 

As  the  fourth  edition  served  to  call  attention  to  and  empha¬ 
size  the  importance  and  significance  of  the  precedent  set  in 
the  care  and  custody  of  official  records  and  documents,  by 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  in  returning  to  Connecti¬ 
cut  the  Governor  Jonathan  “Trumbull  Papers,”  and  by  Mrs. 
Louis  R.  Cheney  of  Hartford,  through  whom  on  the  same 
occasion  the  Governor  Joseph  Trumbull  papers  were  pre¬ 
sented  to  the_  State  Library,  it  is  hoped  this  fifth  edition  will 
inform  those  who  may  have  occasion  to  consult  the  Library 
concerning  what  help  they  may  expect  to  receive  from  or 
through  the  State  Library,  and  suggest  to  those  interested  ^ 
in  what  ways  they  can  be  of  assistance  in  its  further  develop¬ 
ment.  It  is  also  hoped  that  this  new  edition  may  serve  to 
call  attention  to  and  emphasize  the  increasing  importance 
and  significance  of  our  growing  Department  of  War  Records,  » 
as  supplemented  by  the  historical  collections  now  being 
assembled  by  the  Military  Order  of  Foreign  Wars,  by  the 
Daughters  of  1812,  by  the  First  Company  Governor’s 
Foot  Guard,  by  the  First  Company  Governor’s  Horse  Guard, 
by  “Company  K”  and  other  patriotic  organizations;  and  to 
our  Department  of  Public  Records  as  used  and  enlarged  by 
the  public  officials  of  our  State  and  those  of  the  several 
counties,  towns,  and  other  official  districts  within  its  borders. 
The  photostat  is  doing  much  towards  solving  our  public 
records  problems. 

State  Librarian. 


Connecticut  State  Library 
Hartford,  July  12,  1923 


V 


5  7.  Z  ^ 

c  vrl  c  6^ 

^  I  ’’HE  Connecticut  State  Library,  like  practically  all 
.  I  the  State  Libraries  of  the  older  states,  had  its 
foundation  in  the  miscellaneous  collection  of  books 
which  had  gradually  accumulated  in  the  offices  of  the 
5  several  state  officials  from  the  beginning.  These  volumes 
consisted  principally  of  books  purchased  to  meet  tempo- 
’  rary  official  necessities,  or  which  had  been  presented  by 
■'sister  states,  foreign  governments,  or  individuals.  Until 
they  had  been  gathered  together,  arranged  and  some  one 
^  made  responsible  for  their  completeness  and  safety,  they 
were  of  very  little  service  to  the  public. 

In  May,  1854,  the  General  Assembly  provided  for  the 
appointment  of  a  State  Librarian  and  the  miscellaneous 
collection  of  books  belonging  to  the  state  which  had  been 
accumulating  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  were 
placed  in  the  custody  of  this  new  official.  During  the 
j  sixty-seven  years  which  have  elapsed  since  1854,  Con¬ 
necticut  has  had  but  three  State  Librarians;  viz  :  Dr.  J. 
Hammond  Trumbull,  who  served  one  year  when  he  re¬ 
signed;  Dr  Charles  J.  Hoadly,  who  served  from  September, 
}  1855,  until  his  death,  October,  1900,  a  period  of  forty-five 
years,  and  the  present  State  Librarian,  who  came  to  the 
State  Library  in  August,  1898,  as  assistant  and  was  ap¬ 
pointed  State  Librarian  November  28,  1900. 

From  its  rooms  in  the  historic  State  House  on  Main 
Street,  now  the  old  City  Hall,  recently  so  beautifully 
restored,  the  Library  was  moved  to  larger  and  more 
convenient  quarters  in  the  new  Capitol  in  1878,  where  it 
remained  until  the  completion  of  its  new  home  in  our 
State  Library  and  Supreme  Court  Building,  to  which  it 
transferred  its  activities  November  28,  1910. 

The  Connecticut  State  Library  is  especially  fortunate, 
:  •  being  central  in  its  location,  housed  in  a  building  substan- 
!  tially  built,  beautiful  in  its  architecture,  convenient  in 
*  its  arrangement,  harmonious  in  its  decorations  and 
^  homelike.  It  is,  to  paraphrase  the  words  of  another,  a 
;  '  library  by  the  people,  of  the  people,  and  for  the  people. 


4 


CONNECTICUT  STATE  LIBRARY 


From  time  to  time  as  required,  new  departments  have 
been  added  and  the  scope  of  its  activities  has  been 
increased.  With  the  other  libraries  in  Hartford  it  forms 
a  University  System. 

To  the  judge  and  attorney  the  State  Library  is  the 
(' Law  Library  of  the  State,  commendably  complete  in  its 
several  lines. 

To  the  legislator  and  man  of  public  affairs  it  is  a  Legis¬ 
lative  Reference  Library,  in  which  he  can,  at  his  own  con¬ 
venience  and  in  his  own  way,  study  easily,  intelligently 
and  fully,  not  only  the  trend  of  legislation  both  at  home 
and  abroad  and  learn  something  of  the  reasons  for  and 
against  the  several  movements,  but  he  can  also  ascertain 
there  the  contents  and  daily  status  of  each  bill  in  his  own 
legislature. 

To  the  town  clerk  and  judge  of  probate  it  is  a  possible, 
convenient,  desirable  and  safe  depository  for  records,  files 
and  papers  not  in  current  use,  and  a  source  of  intelligent 
assistance,  which  is  theirs  for  the  asking,  in  matters  per¬ 
taining  to  binding,  repairing,  indexing  and  caring  for 
those  records  which  must  be  retained  in  their  several 
offices. 

To  the  state  officer  and  commissioner,  the  State  Library 
is  the  place  where  he  can  find  at  any  time  the  reports  of 
his  own  department  and  similar  departments  in  other 
states,  and  a  place  where  he  can  deposit  any  special 
reports,  records  or  other  material  which  may  come  to 
him,  or  which  he  may  care  to  have  in  a  place  of  safety, 
and  at  all  reasonable  times  have  accessible  to  him  and  to 
those  who  have  a  right  to  use  them. 

To  the  selectman  and  town  treasurer  the  State  Library 
is  the  place  where  they  are  confident  they  can  find  a 
commendably  complete  file  of  the  financial  reports,  of 
their  own  towns  and  neighboring  towns,  which  are  so 
often  lacking  at  home. 


SUMMARY  OF  ACTIVITIES 


5 


To  the  World  War  Veterans  the  State  Library  is  the 
Department  of  War  Records  established  by  the  Con¬ 
necticut  General  Assembly  in  1919,  to  collect,  classify, 
index  and  install  all  available  material  relating  to  Con¬ 
necticut's  participation,  public  or  private,  in  the  World 
War.  Here  the  records  of  the  activities  and  services  of 
individuals,  in  their  own  words,  and  of  organizations,  cities, 
towns,  counties  and  the  state,  officially — overseas  and  at 
home — all  on  uniform  blanks,  are  being  assembled  for  the 
benefit  of  our  children  and  their  children. 

To  the  Civilian  War  Workers  the  State  Library  is  the 
depository  of  the  records  and  files  of  the  Connecticut 
Draft  Executive,  the  State  Council  of  Defense,  the  State 
Agricultural,  Industrial  and  Military  Censuses,  and  the 
reports  and  returns  of  war  activities  from  the  several 
cities  and  towns,  and  the  many  organizations  interested 
in  war  work  throughout  the  state. 

To  the  members  of  the  Military  Order  of  Foreign  Wars, 
and  of  the  First  Company  Governor’s  Foot  Guard,  and 
First  Company  Governor’s  Horse  Guard,  “Company  K,” 
the  Daughters  of  1812,  and  other  similar  organizations 
and  societies  the  State  Library  is  the  permanent  home 
of  the  Historical  Collections  assembled  by  their  members 
and  friends. 

To  the  civil  engineer  and  surveyor  the  State  Library  is 
not  only  a  source  of  supply  of  topographical  maps  of  the 
State  as  it  is  today,  but  the  depository  of  the  official  copy 
of  the  drawings  and  specifications  for  all  dams  and  water¬ 
ways  approved  by  the  State  Board  of  Civil  Engineers, 
and  the  repository  of  records  showing  the  layout  of  many 
counties,  towns,  school  districts,  ecclesiastical  societies, 
highways,  etc.,  as  they  now  are  or  used  to  be. 

To  the  members  of  the  Connecticut  Geological  and 
Natural  History  Survey  and  those  interested  along  these 
lines,  the  State  Library  is  the  distributing  and  exchange 
agency  for  the  several  publications  of  the  Commission. 

To  the  minister  of  our  older  churches  the  State  Library 
is  a  mine  of  wealth  concerning  many  things  which  relate 


6 


CONNECTICUT  STATE  LIBRARY 


to  the  formation,  life  and  activities  of  the  several  churches 
in  Connecticut  in  the  days  of  our  fathers. 

To  the  genealogist  and  descendants  of  Colonial  and 
Revolutionary  ancestry  our  large  collection  of  official 
records  consisting  of  musterrolls,  pay-rolls,  lists,  receipts 
and  miscellaneous  manuscripts,  made  available  by  minute 
indexes,  the  Barbour  Collection  of  Connecticut  Vital  Re¬ 
cords — the  names  in  each  town  arranged  alphabetically — 
supplemented  by  our  collection  of  genealogies  and  local 
histories,  is  the  one  department  thought  of. 

To  the  members  of  the  Connecticut  Society  of  Colonial 
Dames  the  Connecticut  State  Library  is  the  home  of  that 
unique  collection  of  manuscript  histories  relating  to  the 
early  homes  of  our  fathers  in  Connecticut,  which  are 
being  compiled  by  this  society  under  direction  of  a  special 
committee. 

The  student  of  political  economy  and  government  is 
attracted  by  our  large  collection  of  public  documents  of 
our  own  state,  the  sister  states,  the  United  States, 
and  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  Australia  and  their  several 
provinces,  arranged  in  long  series,  easily  accessible. 

The  inventor  and  prospective  patentee  thinks  only  of 
our  long  sets  of  patent  reports  and  certified  copies  of 
specifications  and  drawings  of  patents,  always  at  his 
service. 

The  pupils  of  our  public  schools  think  of  the  State 
Library  as  the  home  of  the  old  Charter,  the  Stuart  por¬ 
trait  of  Washington,  the  Riley  portrait  of  Charles  II,  the 
portraits  of  our  several  governors,  and  the  place  where  they 
can  see  the  table  on  which  President  Lincoln  signed  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  the  Silver  Service  from  the 
“Battleship  Connecticut”  and  so  many  other  things  of 
interest  to  them  connected  with  the  history  of  our  own 
State  and  the  general  government. 

The  numismatist  has  formed  his  idea  of  our  State 
Library  through  that  remarkable  collection  of  coins,  cur¬ 
rency,  medals,  tokens  and  associated  books,  recently 


SUMMARY  OF  ACTIVITIES 


7 


presented  to  the  State  by  one  of  her  sons,  the  late  Joseph 
^  C.  Mitchelson  of  Tariff ville,  Connecticut,  and  Kansas 
City,  Missouri. 

To  the  tourist  and  professional  traveler  the  Connecticut 
^  State  Library  is  simply  a  beautiful,  new  building,  which 
having  been  planned  from  the  inside  out  as  well  as  from 
the  outside  in,  and  having  been  built  upon  honor  and  for 
time,  is  acknowledged  to  be  a  model  of  its  kind. 

To  the  several  state  libraries  of  our  own  country  and 
governmental  libraries  of  Europe,  the  Connecticut  State 
Library  is  looked  upon  as  the  exchange  medium  with  the 
State  of  Connecticut,  through  which  they  receive  promptly 
the  official  publications  of  the  State,  and  in  which  may 
be  found  the  several  official  publications  sent  in  return. 

To  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Connecticut,  who  have 
inherited  or  accumulated  manuscripts  and  records  which 
I  they  have  held  almost  sacred,  the  Connecticut  State 
Library  is  regarded  as  a  most  fitting  depository  for  these 
private  collections  of  official  and  semi-official  papers, 
^  which  have  to  do  with  the  early  life  and  activities  of  the 
State  and  its  several  families. 

To  the  members  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society 
the  Connecticut  State  Library  is  the  new  home  of  the 
Trumbull  Papers  closely  identified  with  the  early  history 
of  the  Colony  and  State  of  Connecticut,  voluntarily 
returned  by  the  Society,  September  17,  1921,  after  having 
had  them  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  years;  thus  marking 
a  new  epoch  in  the  care  and  custody  of  official  records, 
and  recognizing  the  provisions  Connecticut  has  made  for 
the  care  and  use  of  such  records. 

To  the  librarian  and  his  staff  the  Connecticut  State 
I  Library  is  a  group  of  departments,  housed  in  a  model 
building,  with  interested  and  competent  assistants,  whose 
aim  and  purpose  is  to  serve  intelligently,  promptly,  and 
courteously  not  only  the  inquirers  of  our  own  generation 
but,  so  far  as  possible,  also,  those  who  are  to  follow. 


8 


CONNECTICUT  STATE  LIBRARY 


The  preceding,  I  imagine,  are  some  of  the  ideas  which 
have  become  clustered  about  the  name  of  the  “Connecticut 
State  Library,”  and  may  we  not  say  that  all  of  them  are 
right,  simply  looking  at  the  Library  from  their  own  point 
of  view,  and  thinking  along  the  lines  in  which  they  are 
especially  interested. 

WHAT  IS  THE  CONNECTICUT  STATE  LIBRARY? 

It  is  the: 

1.  Supreme  Court  Law  Library. 

2.  Legislative  Reference  Department. 

3.  Department  of  War  Records. 

4.  Archives  Department. 

5.  Depository  of  Public  Records. 

6.  Department  of  Local  History  and  Genealogy. 

7.  Examiner  of  Public  Records. 

8.  Depository  of  Connecticut  State,  Town,  Municipal 

and  Society  official  publications. 

9.  Depository  for  the  official  publications  of  the 

United  States,  the  several  states  of  the  Union, 
the  Canadian  Government  and  Provinces, 
and  of  the  Australian  Colonies. 

10.  Custodian  of  Portraits  of  Governors. 

11.  Custodian  of  State  Library  and  Supreme  Court 

Building. 

12.  Library  Exchange  Agent  for  Connecticut  State 

Publications. 

13.  Exchange  Agent  for  Connecticut  Geological  and 

Natural  History  Survey  Publications. 

14.  Depository  of  the  Historical  Collection  of  . 

a  Military  Order  of  Foreign  Wars. 
b  First  Company  Governor’s  Foot  Guard. 
c  First  Company  Governor’s  Horse  Guard. 
d  “  Company  K.” 
e  Daughters  of  1812. 

15.  Depository  of  historical  and  genealogical  gifts  to 

the  State.  Among  these  gifts  are  the  following : 
a  Sherman  W.  Adams  Collection  of  official 
rolls  and  lists  relating  to  the  French  and 
Indian  War. 

b  Dorence  Atwater  Collection  of  manuscripts 
relating  to  Andersonville. 
c  Barbour  Collection  of  Connecticut  Vital 
Records. 


SUMMARY  OF  ACTIVITIES 


9 


A 


f 


* 


d  Brandegee  Collection  of  Portraits  of  Col- 
Justices  of  the  United  States. 
e  Stephen  Dodd  Collection  of  manuscripts 
relating  to  the  early  history  of  East  Haven. 
/  Enfield  Shaker  Collection. 
g  Sylvester  Gilbert  Collection  of  papers  relat¬ 
ing  to  the  American  Revolution. 
h  William  F.  J.  Boardman  Collection  of  books 
and  manuscripts  relating  to  Genealogy. 
i  Boyd  Collection  of  Woodbury  records  and 
papers. 

Charles  Hammond  and  H.  M.  Lawson  Col¬ 
lections  of  manuscripts  relating  to  the  early 
history  of  the  Town  of  Union. 
k  Col.  Edwin  D.  Judd  Collection  of  Civil  War 
military  rolls  and  papers. 

I  Dwight  C.  Kilbourn  Collection  of  Books 
pamphlets  and  manuscripts  relating  to  Con¬ 
necticut,  New  England  and  the  South. 
m  Ellen  D.  Lamed  Collection  of  books  and 
manuscripts  relating  to  New  England. 
n  Daniel  N.  Morgan  Historical  Collection, 
including  Table  on  which  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation  was  signed. 

0  Deacon  Lewis  M.  Norton  Collection  of  manu¬ 
scripts  relating  to  the  Town  of  Goshen. 
p  Orville  H.  Platt  Collection  relating  to 
Finance,  Indians  and  Insular  Affairs. 
q  Capt.  John  Pratt  Collection  of  military 
papers,  1778-1824. 

f  Major  E.  V.  Preston  Collection  of  Civil  War 
military  rolls  and  papers. 

5  Col.  Daniel  Putnam  Letters. 
t  Sherwood  Collection  of  Connecticut  News¬ 
papers. 

V  Governor  Jonathan  “Trumbull  Papers.” 
u  Governor  Joseph  Trumbull  Manuscripts. 
w  Gideon  and  Thaddeus  Welles  Collection  of 
American  newspapers  from  1820  to  1840, 
approximately. 

X  Charles  T.  Wells  Collection  of  books  relating 
to  New  England. 

y  Robert  C.  Winthrop  Collection  of  manu¬ 
scripts  relating  to  early  Connecticut, 
z  Samuel  Wyllys  Collection  of  manuscripts 
relating  to  witchcraft  and  other  crimes  in 
early  Connecticut. 


w 


CONNECTICUT  ST  A  TE  LIBRARY 


FORMAL  TRANSFER  OF  THE 
TRUMBULL  PAPERS 

BY  THE 

MASSACHUSETTS  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

TO  THE 

STATE  OF  CONNECTICUT 
September  17,  1921 


EXERCISES  IN  MEMORIAL  HALL 

at  Two  o’clock 


Hon.  Everett  J.  Lake, 

Governor  of  Connecticut,  Presiding 

ADDRESS: 

On  behalf  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

Hon.  Henry  Cabot  Lodge, 

United  States  Senator  from  Massachusetts. 

President  of  the  Society  and  Chairman  of  its  Special 
Committee  on  Transfer. 

ADDRESS: 

¥ 

On  behalf  of  the  State  of  Connecticut. 

Hon.  George  P.  McLean, 

Ex-Governor  of  Conneeticut  and  United  States  Senator. 

Acceptance  of  the  Care  and  Custody  of  the  Trumbull 
Papers. 

George  S.  Godard, 

State  Librarian  of  Connecticut. 


After  the  luncheon  at  the  Hartford  Club,  given  by  * 
Governor  Lake  to  the  members  of  the  Special  Committee 
representing  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  and 
other  invited  guests,  the  party  was  escorted  to  the  State 
Library  by  the  First  Company,  Governor’s  Foot  Guard,  y 
Major  Lucius  B.  Barbour,  Commanding. 


SUMMAR  Y  OF  A  CTIVITJES 


// 


MASSACHUSETTS  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 


> 


Boston,  April  21,  1921. 

f  To  THE  Governor  of  Connecticut. 

Sir: 

In  1795  Mr.  David  Trumbull  gave  to  the  Massa¬ 
chusetts  Historical  Society  the  papers  of  his  grandfather, 
Jonathan  Trumbull,  once  governor  of  Connecticut. 
They  were  at  the  time  bound  in  twenty-four  volumes 
and,  with  the  exception  of  one  volume  that  was  unfor¬ 
tunately  destroyed  by  fire  in  1825,  they  have  been  care¬ 
fully  preserved  in  the  Society.  With  them  were  received 
four  letter  books  and  a  volume  of  letters  by  William 
Samuel  Johnson  to  Governor  Trumbull  —  making  twenty- 
eight  volumes  in  all.  Believing  that  as  official  records 
i  they  belong  properly  to  the  State  of  Connecticut,  the 
Society  has  voted  to  return  them  to  that  State,  and  has 
constituted  us  a  committee  to  make  the  transfer. 

^  It  is  with  pleasure  that  we  notify  you  of  the  de¬ 
cision  of  the  Society,  a  decision  made  of  its  own  initiative 
and  without  suggestion  from  other  interests.  A  copy 
of  the  report  on  which  the  Society  based  its  action  is  en¬ 
closed. 

The  twenty-eight  volumes  of  papers  will  be  de¬ 
livered  to  the  representative  you  may  commission  to 
receive  them,  who  may  give  the  proper  receipt. 

We  remain. 

Respectfully  yours, 

Henry  Cabot  Lodge 
^  James  Ford  Rhodes 

Arthur  Lotd 

Worthington  Chauncey  Ford 


Committee. 


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LITCHflELOp; 

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'iitmuifcfe*; 


Facsimile  Print 
of 

Divight  C.  Kilbourn  Collection 
Book  Plate 

Connecticut  State  Library 
Hartford 


